Rollers in hollow legged furniture



July 17, 1962 INVENTOR. FRANK Zack/M652 /-//s A rrakws Y 3,844,1il2 ROLLERS IN HOLLGW LEGGED FURNKTURE Frank P. Lackinger, 529 Allen Ave, MeKees Rocks, Pa. Fiied Nov. 30, 1959, er. No. 856,071 2 Claims. (Cl. 1644) This invention relates generally to rollers" for attachment to the bottom of hollow legs of furniture and more particularly to resiliently extended rollers for supporting chairs which rollers move upwardly into the hollow legs of the chair when the latter is occupied.

A principal object of this invention is the provision of an improved furniture roller that may be readily assembled and disassembled upon manufacture and for the purpose of readily removing the roller for cleaning the same.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved chair roller support structure containing a spring biased roller rotatably supported in a slide that has limited travel within the support which determines the extent of the projection of the roller.

Another object is the provision of a retractable chair supporting roller that is held in assembled position by the compressing of a spring into its biased position.

Another object is the provision of a resiliently springbiased roller rot-stably supported in a slide reciprocal in a guide with the spring disposed directly above the roller and extended between the slide and guide members with sockets in the members to retain the spring in position.

Other objects and advantages appear in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification but without limiting the invention or claims thereto, certain practical embodiments of the invention wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in vertical section of the structure comprising this invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken at right angles to that shown in FIG. 1 with the cup member shown in section.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the roller comprising this invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of the parts making up this invention.

Referring to the drawings the chair roller consists of the annular cup 1 which is provided with a bottom 2 having the roller slot 3 in the center thereof. An upstanding annular wall 4 surrounds the perimeter of the cup and is shaped to receive the bottom of the hollow legged furniture, there being ample clearance. The furniture leg is preferably inserted into the cup and snugly fits the inner face of the upstanding annular wall 4. Thus the Wall 4 has to be constructed to properly mate with the bottom of the furniture leg. The U-shaped guide member 5 has the depending legs 6 connected at their upper end by the top section '7 having the downwardly turned flange portions 8 which form the socket 9 there- 'between on the under side of the top section 7. Half the length of the legs 6 are provided with the flanges 10 on both sides of the U-shaped guide member. The top surface 11 of these flanges 1t lie in a common, horizontal plane and function as a stop for the slide member 12. The slide member 12 is also a U-shaped member having the legs 13 which slide within the U-shaped guide member 5 which legs are connected by the cross end section 14, the ends of which are provided with the upstanding flanges 15 that form the socket 116 that op- Patented July 17, 1962 the aligned holes 17 for receiving the shaft 18 that ro- 'tatably supports the roller 20 within the slide 12.

As shown in FIG. 3 the slot 3 is cut larger than the roller 20 and may also be cut out showing the bottoms of the legs 13 as illustrated in this view.

In securing the guide 5 to the bottom 2 of the cup 1 the bottom may be provided with the small openings 21 into which the projections 22 on the ends of the legs 6 are secured.

When the guide 5 is soured in this manner to the bottom 2 of the cup 1 the roller 20 is mounted between I the legs 13 of the slide 12 and the shaft 18 is inserted through the aligned holes 17 and to rotatably support the roller 20 therein. The flanges 15 of the end section 14 of the slide do not extend beyond the surface of the legs 13 which permits the slide with the roller 20 mounted therein to be inserted between the legs 6 at the window indicated at 23. The slide may be cocked slightly so as to insert the roller and the lower ends of the legs 13 through the window 23 of the guide 5 and when the first flange 15 passes under the flange 8 the slide is straightened and permitted to drop into position as shown in FIG. 1. With the slide in position as shown in FIG. 1 the flanges 15 engage the stops 11 and limit the extension of the roller 20 through the slot 3 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inner surface of the legs 6 of the guide 5 thus retain the shaft 18 in position regardless of the up and down movement of the slide within this guide.

When the slide is in this lower position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the spring 24 may be compressed and inserted between the sockets 9 and 16 of the guide and slide respectively and the flanges 8 and 15 will thereafter retain the spring in its proper position. If it is desired to remove this spring, one can employ a screwdriver or any hard member to partially compress the spring and draw its end out of one of the sockets 9 and 16 and thus disassemble the structure. Thus if the rollers 20 become gummy or dirt lodges within the slide 12 and around the shaft 18, the cup may be removed from the end of the furniture leg and the parts disassembled and cleared and replaced.

It is preferable to make this structure from a good quality metal such as stainless steel. It is also preferable to employ a spring that is suificiently strong to support the weight of the chair alone but when one places an object or sits on a chair this additional weight causes the springs in each of the four rollers to compress the spring and cause the bottom of the cup to engage the floor surface and thus prevent the chair from otherwise sliding or moving with ease. When the weight is removed from the chair the springs again extend the rollers 29 and the chair is readily movable along the floor surface. Ordinarily, the more weight of the chair is insuflicient to cause the rollers to create indentations on the floor covering and when the chair is occupied the only pressure applied to the line contact of the roller against the floor surface is that of the pressure of the spring.

I claim:

1. A chair roller compirsing a cup having an upstanding annular wall and a bottom with a transverse roller slot therein, an inverted U-shaped guide frame having a connected frame end at the top with a spring socket therein, spaced parallel frame legs extending from said connected frame end, the other ends of said frame legs secured to the bottom of said cup on opposite sides of said roller slot, opposed inturned coextensive flanges on the adjacent edges of said frame legs and extending upwardly from said cup bottom and stopping in spaced relation from said connected frame end to provide a stop on the ends of said flanges, means defining a win- 'dow on opposite sides of said frame between said flange stops and said connected frame end, a slide having a top with oppositely projecting shoulders and a socket opposed to said frame socket, spaced depending legs from said top and having slidable contact between said guide frame legs and retained therein by said flanges, a shaft supported in aligned holes insaid slide legs and retained -by said frame legs, a roller mounted on said shaft between said slide legs to extend through said slot, said shoulders on said slide top engaging said stops on said 'flanges to limit the projection of said roller through said slot, said windows permitting said slide and roller to be inserted therethrough to its operating position between said frame leg flanges, and a spring mounted through said widnow and having its ends engaging in said opposed sockets under partial compression to project said roller through said slot.

2. The chair roller of claim 1 characterized in that said roller slot in said cup bottom is open to expose the under side of said slide to permit dirt to drop from the chair roller.

References Gated in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 

